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“Sure. Have my girls behaved themselves?”
“Perfect as always and they’ll sleep well tonight.” Jenna smiled at Kane. “They rode for about an hour.”
“Great. Will you be able to drop them home now? Emily is making lunch.” Wolfe’s voice lowered to a whisper. “I’d ask you to stay but I wouldn’t advise it.”
Jenna chuckled. “Sure, we’ll be there in half an hour.” She disconnected and looked at Kane. “We’re good to go. Mrs. Palmer’s death was accidental and Ella’s blood test came back positive for the date rape drug I suspected.”
“That’s one less murder to investigate.” Kane pushed to his feet. “I’ll go and get changed into uniform; if the search warrant comes through I guess we’ll be heading out to Blackwater.” He glanced down at Duke curled on the rug. “Do you mind if I leave him here? He’s tuckered out.”
“Of course not.” Jenna reached for her cellphone. “I’ll give the Blackwater sheriff the heads-up we might need one of his deputies this afternoon. If there is any evidence at Knox’s motel room, we’ll need him there for any jurisdiction issues.”
Forty-Nine
Much to Jenna’s surprise, she received a call from Judge Eaton as she finished lunch at Aunt Betty’s, to inform her he had signed the warrant and a deputy from Blackwater would meet her at the Blackwater Motel within the hour. She had spoken at length with Wolfe and he’d advised them to seal the room if they found anything significant and leave the forensics to him. Jenna agreed; it would be easy enough to have the Blackwater deputy take Knox into custody and hold him for questioning.
The drive-by of Chuck Burns’ junkyard yielded zip. He had the place locked up tight and the rusty pull-down door to the garage looked as if it hadn’t opened in years. The windows out front had a thick coating of grime and Jenna had no other option than to wait until the following morning to pay him a visit with a search warrant in hand.
The sun was dropping low in the sky by the time they turned onto the highway to Blackwater, with Kane behind the wheel as they headed down the straightaway. Her dislike of driving in the snow picked up pace as they headed down the first hill. Snow thrown from the snowplow created huge banks on each side of the highway and the blacktop wound away ahead, resembling a luge track etched out of the countryside. She turned her attention away from the steep decline and peered through the side window. Ice sparkled in patches and the last rays of the winter sun colored the wide expanse of snow across the grasslands in orange.
As they traveled through the miles of open plains, leaving the vast forests behind, they passed a few ranches, roofs piled high with snow and surrounded by fences buried to the top wire. In the distance, an elk pawed at a cleared driveway, searching for a meal, then bounded through deep snowdrifts toward a small wooded area. “I’m surprised animals survive in this weather.”
“They are more adaptable than you think.” Kane glanced in the direction of the elk. “It’s unusual to see them away from their herd in this weather. I figure they stay together to keep warm. You seem very tense.” He turned on the radio. “Am I driving too fast?”
Jenna laughed but it sounded false. “No, it’s fine, I know I’m safe with you. It’s a weird feeling of dread I get since I spun out and landed on the roof of my cruiser last year. Driving long distances in these conditions isn’t something I enjoy, especially with sundown so close.” She waved a hand at the spectacular views. “Although, I have to admit the snow-covered plains look beautiful. Lethal but very pretty.”
“I usually figure the snow looks picturesque for the first day, then I wish it was spring.” Kane glanced at her. “Tell me more about Jeff Knox. What do you make of him?”
Understanding he was attempting to take her mind off the journey, Jenna pulled out her notes and flicked through the pages. “Apart from his priors, we only have what Aitken has alleged to have seen. Knox’s past and the sighting of him carrying a woman into his room make him a person of interest. The description on his driver’s license puts him in the size range of the Axman.”
“We could speak to Levi Holt again and offer him six images of men around the same size and see if he picks him out as a possible suspect?” Kane slowed to take the off-ramp into Blackwater. “Did we confirm what vehicle he drives?”
Jenna took a deep breath of relief as the town came into view. “Yeah, a white pickup and a van.” She shuddered. “I can’t imagine why people
drive white vehicles in the snow. They become invisible in seconds.”
“That may be the point.” Kane slowed to drive through town. “At night he switches off his headlights and he becomes invisible but he’d be able to see the blacktop quite well; even in the dark it sticks out against the snow.”
They drove into the parking lot at the Blackwater Motel and pulled up beside a deputy’s cruiser. Jenna scanned the area. Only a few vehicles had parked outside the rooms. The motel was tired-looking and needed renovation. The old paint had started to peel off the walls and potholes littered the cleared driveway. She glanced at him. “I guess not many people stay here in winter.”
“I’m not sure I’d stay here at all.” Kane slid from behind the wheel, pulled his cap down over his pink ears and turned to her, puffing out a great cloud of condensation. “The walls look paper-thin and that roof is a few more snowfalls away from collapsing. I figure it will be freezing inside.”
A blast of cheap perfume accosted Jenna’s nostrils as she led the way into the motel reception area and nodded to the Blackwater deputy leaning against the counter chatting to the receptionist. She recognized Deputy Blake. “Thanks for coming out on a Sunday.”
“The sheriff called me after he’d gotten a call from Judge Eaton and I dropped by his house for the warrant. I’ll serve it and then you can do your thing.” Blake frowned. “Do you figure Jeff Knox is involved with the kidnappings along the highway?”
“He’s a person of interest.” Jenna turned to the receptionist. “When did you last clean the room?”
“Two weeks ago, I guess.” The receptionist wrinkled her nose. “He’s a resident. I clean the place when he asks me to, which isn’t often.”
That’s good. Jenna nodded. “Is Mr. Knox in his room?”
“As far as I know.” The receptionist patted her blonde hair and smiled at Kane. “Would you like me to show you the way?”
Jenna rolled her eyes and headed for the door. “We’ll be fine, thank you, ma’am.” She glanced over her shoulder at Kane. “Room twenty-six.”
Fifty
Chuck Burns paced up and down, unsure what to do. The sheriff’s department had paid him another visit, the second in less than a week. His heart had pounded so fast he thought he might suffer a heart attack, seeing the deputy’s big black truck stop outside his yard again. He’d frozen inside the old garage and turned off the light. To anyone passing by the place looked deserted. He pulled out his cellphone and turned off the ringer just in case the sheriff had a mind to call him. What the hell did they want now? He pulled the door to the storeroom shut to conceal the filled shelves of car parts he’d salvaged from the cars his benefactor had given him then moved to the door and listened to them chatter about visiting someone in Blackwater.
